How to Fix “Cannot Shrink Volume Beyond the Point” Error in Windows

Quick Tips

• Not being able to shrink a volume is caused by system files that can’t be moved.
• It’s a good idea to begin with a disk defrag.
• Temporarily disable certain system features and try to shrink the volume, reactivating them if successful.

So, you’ve tried to shrink a volume in Disk Management, and you get an error message that you “cannot shrink a volume beyond the point.” What’s just happened, and how do you fix it? Not to worry. In this article, we’ll be explaining why and also show you how to work around the error.

What Causes This Error?

Let’s start with why you cannot shrink a volume beyond a point. It’s often down to unmovable system files. If you’re shrinking the volume your OS is installed on, for example, you’ll likely run into this.

System files like these are important to the running of your machine. When you shrink a volume, Windows attempts to move files toward the beginning of the volume to create free space at the end, except for files designated as unmovable. The biggest offenders are:

• Hiberfil.sys
• Pagefile.sys
• Shadow copy storage (VSS)
• File system and storage-driver metadata

The best way to resolve this is to disable, delete, and try again.

Fix “Cannot Shrink a Volume Beyond the Point” With These Troubleshooters

Let’s get into fixing this error. We’ve got some solutions lined up below:

Defragment Your Disk

Perhaps the least intrusive place to start is by optimizing your drive, which can consolidate fragmented files and make more free space available toward the end of the volume. Here’s what to do:

Step 1. Type “defrag” or “defragment” into the search bar and wait for the “Defragment and Optimize Drives” system to pop up. Click it.

Step 2. A window will open showing the available drives. Choose the volume you want to optimize.

Step 3. Select the desired drive, then click “Optimize” to manually begin the optimization process.

Step 4. The defragmentation process will begin, first with an analysis of the drive, then a number of “passes” to fully reorganize the data.

Step 5. Once the disk has been defragmented, the “Stop” button will disappear, and the “Analyze” and “Optimize” buttons will reappear.

Disable Certain System Files

The next fix is to temporarily disable certain system features that may prevent you from shrinking the volume further. After disabling each, try shrinking your volume, only progressing to the next if unsuccessful. If it works, don’t forget to reactivate them.

For “Hibernate,” you can use Command Prompt:

Step 1. Open the Run dialog (Win + R) and type “cmd” before hitting (Ctrl + Shift + Enter) to run as Admin.

Step 2. In Command Prompt, type “powercfg /hibernate off” and hit “Enter.

Step 3. To re-enable, type “powercfg /hibernate on” and hit “Enter.”

Another potential offender is the paging file, which can be disabled through System Properties:

Step 1. Right-click “This PC” and choose “Properties.”

Step 2. Click “Advanced system settings.”

Step 3. Click the “Settings” button under “Performance.”

Step 4. Under the “Advanced” tab, click the “Change” button.

Step 5. In the next window, uncheck “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives,” select the drive you want to shrink, choose “No paging file,” and click “Set.”

Step 6. Click the “Set” button and “OK” to finalize.

If there are no system problems that occur, you can also disable System Restore:

Step 1. Open Control Panel and click “Recovery.”

Step 2. Under the “System Protection” tab, select the drive you want to shrink and click “Configure.”

Step 3. Select the drive you’re looking to shrink and click “Configure.”

Step 4. Choose “Disable system protection” and click “Apply” and “OK” to finalize.